Star Wars: Beyond the War
by Redemption's Avenger
Summary: Rogue Squadron may do the impossible, but even they can't cheat death. Or can they? When Wedge Antilles' luck runs out, fate says something else, and the commander of Rogue Squadron becomes involved in something much more than the Rebellion.
1. Chapter 1

**_Star Wars: Beyond the War_**

 _It is a time of great strife and victory for the NEW REPUBLIC._  
 _Following the defeat of GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN, the intrepid pilots of ROGUE SQUADRON have made a name for themselves amidst further crises. Having survived the attack at Corvis Minor orchestrated by YSANNE ISARD, they have since hunted down the rogue Imperial tactician and have freed the CURIC HEGEMONY, in the New Republic's name._

 _With the IMPERIAL REMNANTS in full retreat, General WEDGE ANTILLES, leader of the Rogues, leads an attack on a warlord bent on utilizing scorched-earth tactics, with the Super Star Destroyer LUSANKYA as their base of operations._

 _What Antilles doesn't know is that destiny and fate are about to converge and send him millions of lightyears away from all he has known, into a galaxy facing an implacable foe..._

* * *

Space.

A endless expanse of stars and planets.

A silent expanse of emptiness.

And yet, there _was_ something in the emptiness.

Objects that were not naturally occurring.

Brilliant bolts of energy filled the void, some careening off into the void, others stopped bluntly, and others bore brilliant stars that lived for a short-lived second.

In this battle, a lone metal object spun, spitting energy of its own, its pilot desperately fighting to stay alive.

* * *

" _Watch it, Lead, you've got one on your tail!"  
_

Making to look like I was banking to the right, I slid my throttle back and stepped on the starboard etheric rudder pedal, bringing my X-wing around in a slide to bring the targeting reticule over the TIE Interceptor that was going into the turn I faked.

The reticule flashed green, and I fired a quad-linked burst into the cockpit, in-between the twin ion engines and killing the pilot, leaving the fighter to scream off on a ballistic course.

"One flight, form on me if you're able. We need to break that Deuce's shields."

" _Copy that, Rogue Lead."_ Tycho Chelu's voice came back, and three Incom T-65B Space Superiority Fighters formed up behind me.

"Transmitting targeting data." I ordered, using the long used tactic of one person locking on to a target and supplying that data to others in order to fire for maximum effect.

Switching to proton torpedoes and linking two, I brought my targeting reticule over the _Imperial-II Director_ that was bombarding the MC-80 _Riptide_.

We were assaulting a system owned by a rogue Imperial warlord that had enough ships to pose a noticeable threat to the New Republic. Owning a dozen planets, like Krennel, this man had been harassing New Republic systems, utilizing hit-and-run scorched-earth tactics, going in with Star Destroyers, destroying anything and everything he could, and getting out.

Another reason we were assaulting this warlord was because he had the ability to produce _Victory-II_ Star Destroyers. While old, a Vicstar Deuce was enough to take on two MC-40 frigates, and its concussion missiles could tear down a MC-80's shields in one volley. Add to the fact that he had three ISDs and various other ships supporting him, this warlord was getting to the point that the Republic didn't want another Zinji.

We were pushing in with an assault led by the Super Star Destroyer _Lusankya,_ which was currently spearing deep into the system, taking and exchanging fire with a trio of VSDs. Rogue Squadron went to assist the _Riptide_ when she reported engaging the _Director._

She also encountered mines.

That's right, we were dogfighting in a kriffing _minefield,_ filled with anti-shipping mines. Spotting a pair of mines in our path, I groaned. "Tycho, take care of those mines while I get a targeting lock."

Tycho responded by stitching both mines with single-linked bursts of fire, detonating both and clearing our path.

My targeting reticule started green, then went yellow as the targeting computer found a lock, and Gate started beeping.

The box went red and Gate's tone became constant.

"Fire two!" I ordered, and eight streaks of blue lanced out from our X-wings.

The proton torpedoes crossed the intervening distance in seconds, colliding with the _Director's_ shields and exploding into a fireball. Fired a second earlier than the others, Tycho's torpedoes disappeared into the cloud and impacted against the hull.

The port side's lights started flickering, and a few less turbolaser blasts came out.

I flicked my comm channel over to fleet frequency. " _Riptide,_ Rogue Lead. The Star Destroyer's port shields are weakened, and I'm seeing power fluctuations along that side as well; advise you concentrate your fire there."

 _"Thanks for the tip, Lead."_

"One Flight, we're putting the pressure on. One strafing run, then we'll engage the TIEs harassing _Riptide._ "

Switching back to lasers and making sure that they were quad-linked, I dove towards the Star Destroyer's surface and started juking, moving in unpredictable patterns to throw off the gunners.

Crossing into range, I held down the firing stud, pouring terawatts of energy into the energy barrier before pulling up.

Gate squealed as the tone of a enemy targeting lock screamed through the cockpit. Quickly finding the concussion missile that was targeting me, I snaprolled to my right and watched as the missile screamed by.

"Rogue Two, break off!" I ordered as I watched the missile pull a tight turn and retarget me. I grunted, before my eyes widened as the target lock alarm increased in tone twice. Sparing microsecond to glance at my sensor board, I saw two mines three hundred and fifty meters away and angling towards me.

I swore a nasty Correlian curse, before a plan formulated in my mind. Turning towards the mines, I slammed the throttle forward. "Gate, I want weapons power in the engines."

The astromech droid tootled apprehensively as the distance between my X-wing, the mines, and the concussion missile closed. Reaching up, I flipped the S-foil actuator, closing the wings and allowing my engines to push the fighter faster.

* * *

As Wedge Antilles made to dive between the two mines, a opportunistic gunner on the _Director_ spotted the X-wing.

Bringing the turret around, the gunner made sure he had the proper lead on the fighter, and pulled the trigger twice.

The massive cannon rumbled once, twice, and green bolts of energy lanced out.

As Wedge was about to pass between the mines, the turbolaser bolt grazed the little fighter, causing it to shake and Gate to squeal in alarm.

This blast also served to slow the fighter.

Then, by the Force or some cosmic entity, the concussion missile hit the shieldless fighter, the two mines impacted, and the follow-up turbolaser shot hit, _all at the same time._

A brilliant star was born that drew the attention of all on the battlefield, and the battle paused for a second, as if they all knew who had just died, and took a moment to respect the final resting place of the man.

Then, the star died, the only things left behind was three wings, and an astromech droid.

And General Wedge Antilles was gone.

Or so it would seem...


	2. Chapter 2

**_Star Wars: Beyond the War_**

* * *

 _"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is-"  
_

The dark, malevolent message being broadcast across the vessel's command center was interrupted by a brilliant flash of light, followed by a tremendous crash.

When the smoke cleared, lying in the center of the command bridge, was a man who didn't belong.

* * *

As consciousness returned, I groaned. Opening my eyes, I found a ship's interior, damaged and smoking. Trying to lift my head, I grimaced as my muscles protested, and I laid back down.

Taking a couple of seconds to catch my breath, I reached up and shucked my helmet before propping myself up on my elbows.

Looking around, I realized that I was not on a Imperial Star Destroyer, or any military vessel for that matter. If anything, it looked like a bridge for a cruise liner. Large viewport to my left and control consoles to my right. Lights flashed red, giving the command center a eerie look. Bodies littered the floor, some human, others humanoids I didn't recognize, still others with obvious cybernetics covering their bodies.

Something shifted in front of me, and I turned to look. Rising out from behind a girder, was one of those cyborgs. Acting very much like a malfunctioning droid, its head twitched for a couple seconds before it turned and spotted me.

"New lifeform detected." It said in a toneless monotone that sent chills down my spine. "New technology detected. Assimilation protocols enacted." And it started slowly advancing towards me.

Panicking, I reached for my blaster, only to realize I was still in my pilot gear. I didn't wear my weapon in the cockpit. If I needed one, there was always one in the survival pack under the ejector seat.

Pushing against the floor to give myself distance, my hand slid across something cold. Looking down, the object I had bumped was some sort of streamlined rifle with two prongs where the barrel would be located.

Not questioning the weapon that could potentially save my life, I grabbed it and brought it up to my shoulder. As the cyborg brought one of its arms up, I found the trigger and pulled.

Three bolts of orange energy shot from the twin prongs to slam into the cyborg's face, blowing its head clean off. The body stood for a second before falling to the ground. Lowering the rifle, I looked down at it.

"Ok, this is _not_ a blaster." I said to myself, before another sound made me look back at the body.

It seemed to be enveloped by green light before the body, and the other cyborg ones around the bridge, seemed to... phase from existence, slowly disappearing from my sight, before both the body and the green light was gone.

"What in the name of the Force is going on?" I muttered, before picking myself up and stumbling over to what looked like the helm. The controls looked pretty simplistic, arranged in a way that seemed to promote maximum control, better than a control yoke, but there were some maneuvers than required a hand on the stick. Turning around, I spotted a flashing wall display that looked like a master control display of the ship.

Getting closer, I realized that this was a ship I had never seen before. Comprised of a saucer, a lower hull, and two pylons that ended with nacelles on the same level as the saucer.

Suddenly a soft beeping went off, loud enough to catch my attention. Making my way over, I noticed two things. First, it was not in Aurebesh, instead in a language I didn't understand. Secondly, there was a button flashing.

Mentally shrugging, I pressed it.

"-ulse, _this is Acting Captain_ _Cara Slane of the_ Ares." A tense, feminine voice came out of the speakers on the bridge, speaking Galactic Basic. " _If anyone is on board the bridge, please respond."_

"Captain Slane, this is..." I paused. Should I tell them my rank and name? It was obvious the ship was under attack, and this woman didn't sound like the cyborg that attacked me. I sighed before continuing. "General Wedge Antilles. I hear you."

" _General?"_ Slane muttered, confused. " _Nevermind. General, can you tell us the status of the_ Repulse? _Our sensors are damaged and we can't really tell what parts of your ship are unresponsive."_ _  
_

"Uhhh..." I looked around in confusion, not knowing what any of the unfamiliar controls did. "I might need someone else to do that, _Ares._ I'm not exactly familiar with the controls."

" _How are you not?"_ Slane asked, this time _really_ confused. " _You're on the bridge! You should know_ some _of the controls- you know what, ask the computer."_

"What?" I replied at the absurdity of the statement. 'Ask the computer.' What the hell did that mean? Shrugging, and deciding to entertain Captain Slane, I said, "Computer, what is the status of the _Repulse?"_

To my surprise, an artificial, feminine voice replied. " _Hull breach on decks twelve to fourteen. Phaser banks one and five down. Torpedo launcher one down. Port nacelle damaged, warp drive down."_

 _"Shit."_ Cara muttered. " _I was hoping your warp drive was online. Ours is down, so the_ Repulse _would have been large enough to tow us out of here."_

"Speaking of which, what the hell is going on here?" I asked, hoping to get a bearing on where I was and how I had gotten involved in some sort of war between two factions that I wasn't familiar with. Speaking of which, how in the name of Corellia did I end up out of my X-wing cockpit and onto a unfamiliar ship!?

" _How do you NOT KNOW?!"_ Slane all but yelled. " _We're being invaded by the Borg, you're on a Connie's bridge, and you have no idea what is going on?!"_

"Lady, last thing I remember is being in my fighter, getting hit by _something,_ a brilliant flash behind my eyes, and next thing I know, I'm on board this ship!" I blurted out, my patience at an end. "I woke up to find dead bodies!"

Slane was silent for a good moment. " _I'm sending over a bridge crew. General, if what you're saying is true, I know you're a fish out of water, but we need every able body we can get. You're a pilot, you can take the helm. I'm also giving you command of the_ Repulse. _Normally an acting captain can't make that decision, but the Borg are the Federation's worst enemy. I promise, that if we get out of this, I'll get someone to help you."_

I nodded. "Thank you, Miss Slane."

" _Transporting bridge crew."_

A chime made me turn towards the middle of the bridge. Seven columns of light had formed, and slowly, the shapes of humanoids came into view. My eyes widened as the columns disappeared to show that seven humanoids had materialized in front of my eyes.

These people had teleporters.

One of the humanoids, this one female and blue-skinned like certain Twi'leks, except she had hair and two antennae sticking out of the silver hair. She wore a red uniform with two pips on her lapel, and a pin shaped like a delta arrow.

The woman saluted, smirking. "Lieutenant Tallasa Pjoh. I'm leading the bridge crew."

Shaking off my shock, I returned the salute. "General Wedge Antilles. I'll take over the helm and stay out of your way. Just so you know, I've never piloted one of your ships before, so I may take a few minutes to get accustomed."

She nodded, then turned to the people behind her. "Alright, get to your posts, see what works." Pjoh looked around the bridge before slapping her pin. "Pjoh to _Ares."_

" _I read you, Tallasa."_ Slane's voice came back.

"The General is non-hostile, and I can confirm the original bridge crew was killed by the Borg. And you were correct in assuming he is a pilot, he is wearing some sort of pilot gear." She said disdainfully, glancing at my outerwear.

"Hey!" I protested, offended. "This is New Republic survival gear. This protects me and makes me easier to spot by SAR teams."

Pjoh rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and beam the engineering crew over."

"So, Lieutenant, could you tell me whats going on, and who are the Borg?"

The female nodded. "Computer, are the bridge holoprojectors working?"

 _"Negative."_

"Damn." She sighed. "Help me clear the bodies and I'll tell you what we're facing."

* * *

To say that the explanation wasn't enlightening was like saying that Alderaan wasn't space debris.

The Borg were... insidious. There wasn't any other way to put it. Destroying a person's individuality like that, only to add their knowledge...

After clearing out the bodies, I got familiar with the helm controls. There _was_ a control yoke, but that had to be deployed by voice command. I could see a way of incorporating both the yoke and the console to work best for me, but right now, I didn't have the time nor the know-how to do that.

I also worked with Phoj to come up with a translation program so I could understand the consoles in Aurebesh.

I turned around. "Lieutenant, are we good to go?"

Pjoh nodded, not looking up from her console. "We're good. Engineering managed to get the forward torpedo tube and phaser one back online."

" _Ares,_ we're all good over here." I said over the comm channel, turning back around.

 _"Copy that,_ Repulse. _There's a group of transports fleeing the planet, and they look like they could use a escort. They may even have enough power to tow us in warp."  
_

"By the way, what is this warp drive I keep hearing about?"

There was silence at my words, both from the comm link and the bridge. Cara was the one to break it. " _Ok, you're_ definitely _not from around here. Warp is our version of FTL."_

"Ah. Thank you." I looked down at the helm console and my hands started moving across it. "Plotting intercept course."

As the engines came online, I found myself surprised at how well the ship turned, but I could tell that there could be some room for improvement.

"Could someone divert power to the maneuvering thrusters, or whatever you can to help promote maneuverability?" I asked. "I'm gonna need it if I want to do the maneuvers I'm thinking of. This thing maneuvers as well as a CR-90."

"Got it." One of the crewmen, this one a feline like a Cathar, except there was no snout, and he had a tail.

We turned towards the transports and moved under one-half thrust, or 'impulse' as the console said. As we made our way towards the ships, I put the _Repulse_ through a series of experimental turns, spins, and barrel rolls to get a feel for the 'cruiser.' That extra power helped the maneuverability of the ship, and I felt more comfortable piloting now.

"Lieutenant, I need to know this ship's combat style." I said, not taking my eyes off the console and the sensors. "Does it broadside, does it have a frontal weapons array, that sort of thing."

"Cruisers do the most damage broadsiding. It allows the most weapons to fire at once. We do have forward and aft torpedo launchers, and do the most damage against the hull. We also have half of the normal magazine of torpedoes."

I nodded, already forming several attack plans to use.

As we closed to one thousand kilometers, Miss Slane commed the evac transports.

 _"Evac transports,_ _this is Captain Cara Slane of the_ Ares. _We're coming up to assist you, what's your status?"_

 _"It's good to see you,_ Ares!" A tired and stressed voice came back, suddenly filled with hope. " _We just managed to make it out of the furball above Vega. There's a_ Galaxy _back there that's spitting out fire like the devil himself! It's how we were able to get out._ _The captain, I think his name was Craig, told us to gun our engines and get out of the system while he covered some more transports."_

"Copy that." I responded. "This is.. um, _Captain_ Wedge Antilles aboard the _Repulse._ Do your transports have warp drive?"

" _We do,_ Repulse. _My sensor officer says that your warp drives are offline. I think the_ Do You Feel Lucky _and_ Galaxy's Bounty _have enough power to tow you and hit warp. We just need to make it past the moon and into open space before we engage FTL, however, so if you guys could cover us, that would be greatly appreciated."  
_

"Roger." I said, busying myself with the console. "Moving into escort formation."

 _"Belay that, General."_ Slane interrupted. _"I'm reading four Borg vessels on an attack vector."_

"Ares, _this is the_ Do You Feel Lucky." A different, gruff voice came over the comm lines. _"My ship is armed with several disruptor cannons and a torpedo launcher. If any ships make it through, I can hold them up and let one of your ships engage."_

 _"Thanks,_ Lucky." Cara replied. " _Just remember to keep your shields and weapons on random modulation."_

I brought the _Repulse_ around to face the incoming contacts as the _Ares_ moved up and slightly ahead of us. The little corvette-sized ship moved with a nimbleness I would normally see in a TIE Interceptor.

 _"General, I'm reading three Probes and a Sphere. We'll engage the Probes, you handle the Sphere._

"Entering firing range." Tallasa reported. "Firing!"

I watched as energy ran along the edge of the saucer before lancing out and impacting the malevolent geometric shape.

Except this was no blaster, laser, turbolaser or ion cannon. It was a beam. Two beams of multicolored, orange-tinted light. The _only_ other weapon I knew of that used beams was the superlasers, though the ones that the Empire used were destroyed almost as soon as they had been found.

Knowing that this was not the time to be distracted, I saw a green glow build up on the Sphere's surface, and I snap-rolled the cruiser on it's side, dodging out of the beam's way.

"Lieutenant, fire torpedoes!" I ordered.

The deck rumbled, and three bright red orbs that were _definitely_ not proton torpedoes emerged from under the saucer before impacting the Sphere and making it shudder.

Taking a long path around the Sphere to allow Tallasa to broadside with four of those beam weapons, I brought the _Repulse_ around to bring the forward torpedo launchers to bear.

Dancing the cruiser around what weapons fire I could, I gunned the engines and seemingly went to ram the Sphere.

Four more torpedoes slammed into the Borg's shields, accompanied by two beam blasts, one of which managed to slip through the shields and impact the hull, causing a gout of green flame to emerge from the surface.

At the last second, as it would seem the two ships would collide, I rolled the cruiser around the Sphere, and allowed the rear beam weapons a beautiful point-blank shot.

Unfortunately, I had misjudged the cruiser's weight, that, and the people's shields didn't seem to conform to the hull.

The two energy barriers grazed each other, feeding back into the two ships. The Borg ship took it the worst, as her shields had taken the most damage. Something overloaded, causing another, larger burst of flame and metal to shoot out from the innards.

On the _Repulse,_ the cruiser shook violently and sparks flew. I stabilized the ship and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Sphere shields down!" Another crewman reported. "They're remodulating."

"General, bring us about." Tallasa ordered.

Instead of turning around for another head-to-head, and the possibility of getting caught in a explosion, I cut the throttle and flipped the _Repulse_ end-on-end, bringing the frontal weapons and torpedo launchers to bear.

Phoj, to her credit, didn't even blink at the maneuver, instead yelling, "Eat this, vole fuckers!"

I frowned and raised an eyebrow, before turning my attention back to the Sphere.

The Lieutenant had fired all the forward weapons at one point, and the four beams dug into the hull, before five torpedoes dove into the hole. The green flames burst from various points, before the ship was consumed by a explosion far bigger than it should have produced.

Turning around to look at Tallasa, I gave her a look and asked. " 'Vole fuckers?' "

She grinned sheepishly. "Old habits."

I shook my head, and turned back around.

While we were fighting the Sphere, the _Ares_ and the _Do You Feel_ _Lucky_ had engaged the Borg Probes. They had managed to take down one, and the _Ares_ was dancing with the other two while the _Lucky_ was shelling from range.

I looked down at the sensor data. "Lieutenant, the Probe closest to us has its port shields down to reinforce the side getting hit by the _Ares._ I'm gonna set you up for a hull shot, hit it with torpedoes."

The Probe never saw us coming until two torpedoes dug into its hull and turned it into so much space debris. Shooting through the debris cloud, I rolled over the _Ares_ and allowed Tallasa to pound the frigate with the dorsal beams.

Passing by the Probe, the crewman on sensors alerted, "Enemy torpedoes inbound!"

Reacting instantly, I slammed back on the throttle and pulled up, corkscrewing relative 'up' before coming out of the spin, diving and pushing the throttle to full, ending up with the torpedoes on our tail and the Probe in front of us.

The _Ares_ was pounding the Probe's other side with cannons and more beams, while long range torpedoes from the _Lucky_ kept its forward shields from being diverted to reinforce the others.

"Lieutenant, don't shoot down those torpedoes, I have a plan." I ordered.

"Copy that." The alien woman replied uncertainly.

The _Repulse_ shot forward, spitting fire and torpedoes, while the green enemy torpedoes on our aft closed the distance.

Within one hundred and fifty meters, as it would seem the two ship would collide, I slammed the throttle back and triggered all of the maneuvering thrusters on the ventral side of the secondary hull at once.

The _Repulse_ 'flipped' over the probe, all the while keeping her forward weapons on it and spitting fire. After hitting the half-way point of the flip, I cut the throttle in reverse, keeping the momentum from the attack run going in the other direction.

Then Probe's _own torpedoes_ slammed into it.

The first hit the already weakened shields and tore them down. The second impacted the hull, destroying armor plating and spreading green fire. The third and final hit, and, judging the size of the _massive_ explosion, the Probe's own torpedo hit the torpedo magazine.

 _"I've never seen flying like that!"_ The _Lucky's_ captain said in disbelief.

 _"You treated that cruiser like a fighter!"_ Slane voice exploded over the comm link. _"Who_ are _you?"_

I smiled. "Lets get these people to safety, then we can talk-"

My danger sense _screamed_ , and I was already moving the _Repulse_ before the sensor crewman could scream, "CUBE ON SENSORS!"

Appearing out of nowhere, presumably out these people's FTL, was a giant, three-by-three kilometer long cube. What looked like a tractor beam snapped out at where we _were,_ as I had started moving on instinct.

Dancing around the vessel's hull, I spun and shimmied the cruiser for all its worth, avoiding nearly all of the fire and tractor beams directed at the _Repulse._

The _Ares_ wasn't so lucky. She was caught in a tractor beam, and the sensors told me that her shields were being slowly stripped.

The deck rumbled as Phoj fired what was probably all the torpedoes she could from all of the tubes at once, sending dozens of red projectiles to impact the Cube's shields.

I grunted as a green beam slammed the _Repulse's_ shields, then the cruiser shuddered as a green glow suddenly arrested our movement.

"We're caught in a tractor beam!" One of the crewmen wailed in defeat as the _Repulse_ trembled as three beams consistently tore at the shields.

"Shields at fifteen percent and failing!" Another yelled.

LT. Phoj, apparently, wanted to go out fighting, as she focused all the beams on the the tractor beam's source, only to hit the shields.

My hands danced across the console, desperately trying to shake the _Repulse_ out of the durasteel grip as fear stared to creep in.

"Shields failing! Kinetic cutting beam making it through!"

Just as the shields failed, another pair of beams came out of nowhere, seemingly bypassing the shields and destroying the emitter. Gunning the engines, I watched three ships, flying in formation, assaulted the Cube. Two of the ships looked to be cruisers, both large and heavy, while the third was about as large as the _Ares,_ but more flat.

 _"Good work,_ Sovereign." A commanding voice came over the comms. _"That should let the_ Repulse _and_ Ares _to get clear._ Omega, _make sure you don't get_ _caught by plasma beam, your shields can't take that much damage."  
_

 _"Copy that,_ Steadfast."

Only faintly listening to the conversation, I gunned the engines and came up on, I assumed, the _Steadfast's_ port side, using the larger ships bulk to protect the _Repulse's_ unshielded hull as she broadsided the Cube

" _What the hell is the_ Repulse _doing?!"_ The _Omega's_ captain asked.

"Lieutenant, _,_ when I tell you, I want you to fire every torpedo you have." I ordered, ignoring the comms.

"WHAT?" The woman yelled. "We can't take on a Cube! It'd be impossible to break those shields with a _Constitution!_ "

I smiled. "Impossible is my stock in trade."

I then rolled over the larger ship, and straight in at the Cube.

"Shields back up to twenty percent!"

Aiming for the Cube's corner, I got in close and scraped the larger ship's shields, before flipping the _Repulse_ again.

"NOW!"

And with a battle cry, Phoj hammered the firing key.

The giant ship's shields absorbed four beams and ten torpedoes before they failed, allowing the last five to impact the hull in rapid succession, tearing deep into the construct's inner workings.

I 'stood' the _Repulse_ up, relative to the Cube, and shot upwards.

 _"What kind of flying is that?!"_ The _Sovereign's_ captain exclaimed.

 _"I don't know, but he just gave us a opening."_ The _Steadfast's_ captain replied. "All _ships, pull back! I just left a surprise for the Borg!"_

Not liking the sound of that surprise, I turned back towards the evac transports and gunned the engines.

The Cube started to chase us, but, as I watched, it seemed to hesitate. Then it stopped before cracks ran across its surface faster than the eye could follow, tossing metal, fire, and bodies into space.

With a brilliant flash, the Cube detonated, forming a momentary star and sending out a massive shockwave that washed over the _Repulse,_ causing the ship to shudder slightly.

Grinning as the bridge erupted in cheers and the adrenalin left my body, I said, "Good job everyone!"

My attention was then diverted to the _Steadfast._ The large vessel flew by, and I could pick out the damage the ship had suffered. Carbon scoring marked her hull, and various points were pitted. I could see several internal compartments opened to space, and she was missing a part of her saucer.

Still, it looked quite majestic, on par with the Mon Calamari cruisers.

"Ms. Slane, what ship is... that?"

I could hear her smirk. _"_ Galaxy- _class, Mr. Antilles_ _Over forty years old and built to last. Crew of just over one thousand. That's the_ Steadfast _-from what I hear, her captain's in MACO; one of our anti-Borg special ops units."_

If the ship I was on was easily dwarfed by that beast, and _forty years old,_ no less, then I just might have a place to go in Starfleet.

That is, if I couldn't get back to the Republic.

 _"_ Repulse, _this is the_ Steadfast." Captain Craig said over the comm. " _Prepare to be towed into warp. I have no idea who's over there, but your pilot is_ insane." _  
_

I smiled at the comment.

A blue tractor beam, emitting from a point on the _Steadfast's_ secondary hull, enveloped the _Repulse's_ saucer, and I watched as another tractor from the _Galaxy's Bounty_ grab the _Ares._

The nacelles on the _Steadfast_ glowed brightly, before the stars redshifted, entering a tunnel of what looked like hyperspace, before that went away and stars and other objects streaked by.

I sat back. I had some thinking and talking to do, and to figure out what I was going to do.

* * *

As the _Repulse_ was towed through Faster-than-Light, someone watched the Man Who Didn't Belong, unnoticed.

The being was invisible to the people he watched. He was noticed only when he wanted to be noticed.

Discreetly observing the Man's thoughts, the being smiled.

"Oh, my dear mortal friend."Q said "You have no IDEA how much fun you'll be having. I'll be seeing you, mon ami. Now to pop in on Jean-Luc and his lady Beverly."

* * *

 **Story's not over yet!**


	3. Chapter 3

I blinked as I found myself in the cockpit of a X-wing again.

" _Rogue Squadron, prepare to jump."_

I shook my head and reached for the hyperdrive lever. "Rogue Squadron ready."

I pushed forward and hyperspace came into view again.

Before I was ripped from it.

Space was filled with dark, geometric shapes and green beams of light.

" _We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile."_

"No. No!" I spun and fired all my torpedoes at a cube.

Screams filled the comm channels. " _General, why'd you leave?! General!"_

"General!"

"Gah!" I jumped awake in the captain's chair.

Tallasa Pjoh rest a hand on my shoulder, antennae doing… something. "General, are you alright? You're shaking."

I nodded uneasily. "I'm fit to fly. Just had a bad dream."

She looked at me suspiciously. "Well, we're five minutes out from Earth. I'd confine you to quarters if someone else was available, but you're the only pilot we have."

I nodded and rose, stretching my muscles and groaning as something popped.

Pjoh grimaced. "Need something to drink?" She asked, moving over to a small alcove.

I nodded. "Caf. Hot caf, like something that could wake a dead bantha."

She turned back to the alcove. "Coffee, hot." I watched in amazement as pot and cup materialized much like Pjoh had hours ago. The lieutenant poured the black liquid gold into the cup and handed it to me.

I took the cup and eyed it suspiciously. It _looked_ like caf. I sniffed it. It _smelled_ like caf. I raised it to my lips and took a taste. That taste quickly became a gulp.

"I swear, I will give everything I have for one of those." I said, lowering the cup and indicating the magical caf materializer. "You can make more, right?"

The Andorian, as she told me her race was, looked at me, sensory antennae indicating confusion, if her facial expression said anything. "Do you really not have replicators where you come from?"

I shook my head, taking another gulp of the 'coffee.' "I'd think I'd know if there was something that could make caf instantly. Can it make anything else?"

"Oh yeah. Anything it has replicator patterns on-"

"Sirs?"

We both turned to the ensign at sensors. "I'm sorry for interrupting your _riveting_ conversation about coffee and the replicator, but we're just under a minute out."

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." Taking one last gulp, I put the cup back in the alcove and watched the replicator light up and the cup fade from existence. Shaking my head, I took the helm.

Stars stopped streaking and a planet rapidly rose into view. It was a beautiful, green, garden world, almost like the perfect world, with multiple biomes across the planet. Several large concentrations of lights could be seen on the night side. It lacked the pollution of Coruscant or Corellia, and didn't seem as dense.

Something else that didn't seem right.

"Repulse, _this is_ Steadfast." Captain Craig spoke over the comm. " _We're gonna drop the tractor. Follow us to the spacedock, then Control will guide you in."_ I heard a short laugh. " _I need to buy your pilot a drink. Good luck, we're off._ "

The _Steadfast_ dropped her tractor beam and moved off, towards a cluster of structures and starships. I followed, easing the _Repulse_ into a gentle, accelerating turn and followed.

As the tiny fleet moved towards a cluster of orbital structures, I took in the marvel at the center.

It was a large orbital station. Shaped almost like a mushroom, the structure was much bigger than a Golan platform, and a lot less war-like. It was almost Mon-Calamarian in design and elegance, which I could appreciate.

The comm came online. "Repulse, _this is Earth Spacedock Control. We have a berth for you in the starbase. Slow to half impulse and close to ten klicks, then tractors will guide you the rest of the way."_

"Copy, slowing."

"Lieutenant, you have a comm line from Admiral Quinn."

The Andorian nodded. "I'll take in the ready room.

I eased the throttle down as we approached a set of giant doors at the top of the spacedock. Four tractor beams snapped out and pulled the _Constitution-_ class along as the doors opened.

I stood up and walked over to the replicator and eyed it suspiciously. "Lomin-ale, cool."

The device blared. " _Request not found."_

I frowned. "Bantha steak, medium rare."

" _Request not found."_

"What the-"

"General?"

I turned. Phoj stood outside the ready room, but something about her seemed different. Then it hit me. Her posture was of one ready to attack, and her hand was resting on her weapon.

I shook my head. "Nevermind." I nodded at her weapon. "Gonna use that on someone?"

She didn't blink. "Only if I have to."

My eyes scanned the bridge for a moment. Everyone was tensed, ready to explode if something happened. My eyes also caught sight of a rifle leaning on the wall next to the replicator.

"I need you to come with me." She said, also catching sight of the rifle, and her hand wrapped around the grip. "I promise you won't be harmed."

My eyes flicked around again. I wasn't sure I could resist these people, with all this tech. The Imperials sure as hell didn't have this tech. I may not have a choice but to trust these people.

"Alright." I dropped my stance and cracked a smirk. "Do you need to cuff me?"

* * *

"Who is he?"

That was the million credit question.

"We ran his DNA and name through the system." A subordinate said. "We came up with nothing. Nothing at all. Not even the Klingons have anything on him."

Admiral Chakotay sighed. "What's the sensor data from the _Repulse_ say?"

"The bridge was taken over by the Borg one moment, then, suddenly, the sensors were overloaded, next, he's just there, lying on the ground. We did find the remains of a fighter craft on both the bridge and the hangar. The Fuselage in the hangar was half-buried in the wall; we had to cut the thing out. There's not much left, but we can tell that it's not made of tritanium."

"One thing's for sure, he's better than Mister Paris in piloting skills. He's a professional." Admiral Kathryn Janeway commented as a holo showed gun camera footage recorded from the _Steadfast_ showed the old _Constitution-_ class dance around the Cube. "What's the medical scans say?"

"He doesn't have the implants you would normally see. There are also bacteria that we haven't seen before, but nothing he can pass on. He does have multiple radiation signatures, saying that he's well traveled. We also found a lot of scars and old wounds, some from life threatening injures. Wherever he's from, they've got some good medics." The Commander looked down at his padd. "Also according to one… Lieutenant Tallasa Pjoh, he could not read the consoles."

"But he speaks English." Janeway asked.

"Yes."

Chakotay sighed again. "Just who _is_ this man?"

"He's never heard of warp, transporters or replicators," Janeway listed. "He's never seen sustained beam weapons, he asking for food we've never heard of, he's never heard of the Borg, yet he knows his way around piloting, he's seen his fair share of scars and he's called a General. Oh, and he came with a wrecked fighter. What's your take on this Chakotay?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm the head of Intelligence and I've never heard of something like this. I have people digging, but it will be a while before they come back with anything. I guess we'll just have to ask him."

"Um, how can we be sure he's not lying?"

The two veteran admirals shared a look. "We'll get his side of his story," Janeway replied. "Then we'll bring in a friend."

* * *

I looked up from studying one of the nicest looking interrogation rooms ever (It was even _cooled_ ) to see two people. Both wore the same rank insignia (I assumed it was indicative of rank). The male was a couple centimeters taller than the female. Gray was creeping into his hair, and a tattoo adorned one side of his face.

The woman was another beast entirely. Her face was somewhat stony, but I could spot the mischievous gleam in her eyes. The gray in her hair was more dominant, but I could see the red streaks here and there.

"It's about time someone came to talk to me. I mean, yeah, you gotta search me up, but still! All you need to do is look at the Imperial warrants!"

I caught the look they shared. "You _do_ know what the Empire is, right?"

"The Klingon Empire?"

I sighed. "No, the Galactic Empire. Anddddd… that just proves my theory."

The woman's face became worried. "And that is?"

I sighed, rubbing my hand in my face. "I'm nowhere _near_ home. You better get settled, because this is gonna be a _long_ story."

And I told them about the Galactic Civil War.

* * *

 ** _Several hours later…_**

There was near complete silence in the room adjacent to Wedge Antilles.

"Well, that was a story and a half." Someone commented.

"You could make at least six movies with that." Someone else replied.

"And many more books."

"You know why we brought you here." Janeway asked the new arrival, ignoring the banter.

"To ascertain the truthfulness of General Antilles' story." He replied.

"This is voluntary, he may not want to do this, and you don't have to either." Chakotay said.

"Admiral, we must find if this is true, not only for our curiosity, but for his sake as well."

* * *

I looked up from my cup of something called raktajino (they told me it was Klingon coffee, but whatever it was it was _really_ good) when the door opened.

Much like Admirals Janeway and Chakotay before him, this Admiral had gray mostly dominating his short hair. He was dark-skinned, with only one bar on his collar. His distinguishing feature was a pair of pointed ears and an impassive face.

"Greetings." He said in a near emotionless voice, tilting his head. "I am Rear Admiral Tuvok."

I stood and extended my hand, which he took. "General Wedge Antilles."

I sat back down and cradled my mug as Tuvok sat as well. "Your story is very interesting, General." He began. "But you must understand our duplicity. We have never heard of an Rebel Alliance like you describe, a New Republic, or Galactic Empire. We can not find any mention of the species you mention, other than humans. Overall, your story seems false."

He had listed the entire thing like one would read a financial report.

"But?" I questioned.

"In order to verify your claims, General Antilles, it would be best to perform what my people term a mind meld, so that I may examine your memories and confirm your story."

I raised my unoccupied hand. "Hoooold on a second, you mean a brain probe?"

"No. It is a cooperation, a telepathic link performed through touch between two individuals." He explained. "While it is an intimate process, Vulcan philosophy on the matter is thorough and based in logic and control. I shall not pry where I am not wanted."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" I countered

"Vulcans do not lie. I give you my word as a Starfleet officer and as a Vulcan; you will not be harmed by the meld, Mr. Antilles."

I sighed and leaned back. As much as I didn't want someone jumping around in my mind, I could detect the doubt from Admirals Chakotay and Janeway when they left. If this man was an Admiral, and they trusted him… well, this may be my only way out of a holding cell or the loony bin.

I leaned forward and put the raktajino down. "Let's do it."

The Vulcan, as he called his species, inclined his head. "Very well."

I nodded and rested my hands on the table. Tuvok leaned forward and took his right hand and put it on the left side of my face, with his thumb on my chin, his index at the base of my nose, his middle resting directly behind my eye, and his remaining two fingers resting against my cheek.

"My mind to your mind." He uttered. "My thoughts t _o your thoughts_."

I found myself in the halls of a Mon Calamari cruiser. I blinked and turned around. It seemed I was in a endless corridor of windows. As I looked, I saw metallic structures race by before the perspective I was watching from dove into a massive hole. I realized I was watching my memories of the second Death Star run.

I felt another presence and turned to see Tuvok. Without words, he asked me to show him. I nodded and led him down the corridor of windows.

I could also feel Tuvok through the link. He was like a desert; a vast plain of logic and carefully regulated emotions. Occasionally, whenever I showed him really profound memories, I could feel some emotion, mostly anger or sympathy, slip through, along with memories similar to whatever we were on, of his time on a ship named _Voyager._

The meld seemed to last hours, but was really only a minute or two.

Along the way, Tuvok signaled me to stop at a picture of my galaxy. I sent a question. He should know what the galaxy looked like. I felt the mental equivalent of a shake of the head. Another window appeared, this one in a corridor much like the _Repulse's_ , depicting another galaxy.

Then he _showed_ me.

Suddenly I was out of the meld. I gasped and stood, knocking the mug containing the raktajino crashing to the deck plating. I took in deep gasps of air recovering from my shock and the overwhelming emotions.

"I… apologize for the shock, it can be common for the first time a person melds to be overwhelmed."

"I'm, I'm…" I gasped, leaning against a wall.

"From another galaxy." He finished for me.

* * *

"So, this is how I see things happening." Admiral Janeway said. We were in much nicer accommodations than the holding cell/interrogation room. It was probably her office.

"We can't get you back to the Andromeda galaxy, not anytime soon." Andromeda is what they called my, you guessed it, home galaxy, which was the closest galaxy to the Milky Way galaxy. There was no way for me to get me there, as Starfleet had no way of making it through the massive energy barriers that surrounded the two, and crossing the intervening space would take years, if not decades.

"So, you have two choices. One, we give you a living space, some galactic currency, a ship, and you can go about your life." I nodded. Sounded somewhat like I would have done had I not joined the Rebellion.

"Two, you join Starfleet. We could use someone of your experience, and we need all the help we can get with the Borg and the Klingons."

I rubbed my face with my hand. "Can I have some time to think about this?"

Janeway nodded, a knowing smile adorning her face. "Sure. You can go out on the promenade, if you want to look at the stars. A security officer will be following you, if only to keep an eye on you."

I nodded and stood, wandering out and finding an empty viewport to look out of.

The vista was beautiful. Earth, as the planet was called, was illuminated by a sunrise, covering the surface that I could see with golden light. Overall, it was stunning.

Earth was so much better than Coruscant. Sure, the planetary city had it's charm, but it was all gray, so covered in structures and constantly changing that the planet would choke on itself if it wasn't for the environmental control systems. Earth was naturally beautiful.

"Amazing, isn't it?" A voice asked. I looked to my right.

Also leaning against the rail and looking out, was a tall, blond man that I would later learn was of German descent.

"Yeah. In all my years piloting, this is one of the best views from space I have seen." I shifted my weight and extended my hand. "Wedge Antilles, former New Republic Starfighter Command.

He looked at me and flashed a devilish grin that sent chills down my back. "Ronald Pinkerton, former Borg Collective."

I managed not to jump back, as this man wasn't trying to assimilate me like that drone had been a day ago. That, and he had none of the cybernetics that the drone did. In fact, he looked a bit chubby.

"First time to Earth?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking, catching up what just happened over the last two days. Waking up to a new galaxy, Having to fight my way out of a Borg invasion…"

"I know. I was just liberated from the Collective _at_ Vega. I was in the Collective for over ten _years_ and look at me." The blond pointed at his left eye which went up and down the color spectrum. "I was a class-three work drone. Multi-spectral scanner, neural interface, half of a positronic brain, backup life support, tritanium skeleton. I have to _live_ with these, 'cause removing them will kill me." Ron sighed. "I had no individuality. Only now am I seeing the world through _my_ eyes and I'm still coming to terms."

I raised my eyebrow. The Borg were so perverted if they did this to nearly everyone they assimilated. "Well at least you have someplace to go to. All my friends and family think I'm dead."

"Well, you could go to Starfleet." Pinkerton suggested. "I was a captain before I got assimilated by those fuckers. Now Command's giving me back my captaincy and that beauty of a ship, although some asshole named Jellico was trying to stop me." He pointed out at the shipyards and I followed to a ship that looked much like the _Sovereign_ had. " _Ra-Calium_. _Sovereign-_ class, from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers." He grinned that damn grin of his. "Rocks into replicators, we can fix anything."

"Huh. A good deal smaller than a Star Destroyer, be she looks mean." I commented.

"What? Star Destroyer!?" The former Borg Drone was suddenly in my face, gripping my shoulders and shaking me a bit, a inventive (or manic) gleam in his eyes. " _Tell me_." He whispered.

"Mister Pinkerton," A familiar voice said, admonishing. "If you would refrain from interrogating the good general, I'm sure you'll find out all about them when the report comes out."

Pinkerton had the decency to look a bit ashamed as he let go of me. "Sorry ma'am."

I blinked and turned to Admiral Janeway. "Thank you, Admiral."

She smiled. "It's no problem. Ron can be a bit eccentric."

"I blame missing half my brain." He quipped.

"So, have you reached a decision?" She asked.

I glanced back out the window and saw the hull of the _Ra-Calium_ again.

I turned back to the Admiral and nodded. "Sign me up."

The good Admiral smiled again. "We'll have to put you through an accelerated training course to get you familiar with things, as you already have command experience, but other than that…" She extended her hand.

"Welcome to Starfleet."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Spot the cameos! Thanks to Ron the True Fan and Heart of Fyrwinde for allowing me to make mentions of their crews, and Fyrwinde for Betaing.

 **The story continues! Up next, Wedge's stint at the Academy!**


	4. Chapter 4

_This is where you make a difference._

' _-Today we honor General Wedge Antilles-'_

' _-Earth is burning-'_

' _-I love you, Wedge-'_

' _-Greetings, Other-'_

' _-you will know pain, Jeedai-'_

' _-of the USS Redemption-'_

' _-to Wedge-'_

' _-I know what it feels like to loose people-'_

 _This is your new beginning._

I gasped awake, breathing heavily. The rising sun shone brilliantly over the tranquil waters of the San Francisco Bay, reflecting into my spacious living quarters. Today was my second day on Earth, and my first day at Starfleet Academy.

Pulling myself out of bed and trying not to reflect on the dream, vision, or whatever the eerily real thing was, I found my new uniform and pulled it on, grabbing caf and a pastry from the replicator.

"Love that thing." I muttered, sipping on the caf simulacrum.

After I agreed to join Starfleet, I went through a round of vaccinations. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but was needed. I also had a Universal Translator implanted in my inner ear, and I had joked that I would never need a protocol droid again. After that, I was given an apartment and was transported down to the surface

I looked over a datapad (or a Personal Access Display Device-PADD for short), containing where I would go, who I would report to, and my schedule. Finishing the food, I stepped out of the quarters and strode down San Francisco. The city itself was beautiful, a perfectly meshed cross between rustic brick houses that had to be a couple centuries old, to modern skyscrapers that seemed to defy the laws of physics. It was mesmerizing in it's own way.

I would have been _very_ hard pressed to find someplace like this in my galaxy. Sure, Coruscant looked good at first glance, but dig down a few layers and you would find the most wicked things. Here, I didn't see a single person that looked hungry or poor. It was shocking.

The Academy grounds themselves were stunning. Intricately tailored, groomed to perfection, flowers from all over the galaxy decorated the campus. And, to top it all off, was an excellent view of the San Francisco Bay, and the centuries-old Golden Gate Bridge, what many said made San Francisco San Francisco.

I managed to find my way to the correct building. I stepped up to the officer, who was a male Caitian, I believed.

I snapped to attention. "Wedge Antilles, reporting as ordered."

Lieutenant Ferra, I think he was named, appraised me with a critical eye. His tail swished twice. "Ah, the _special_ one."

I raised a eyebrow. This man had probably taken _and_ seen a _lot_ of shit from the cadets here, but that was just insulting.

"Room two on your right." He continued.

I rolled my eyes and let him be. "Thank you." Walking past him, I found the right door.

* * *

I received my assignments, and proceeded to go back into school again.

Now, to clarify, I probably could have learned all this stuff on my own eventually, but it wouldn't look good for a commanding officer to not know what _anything_ was. Granted, some of the technobabble went straight over my head, but I understood some of it.

History was my worst subject, of course. In fact, since I was _so_ far behind, I was only briefed on major events, such as the _Phoenix_ launch, Borg invasions, the Dominion War, the current situation, etc.

The weaponry of this galaxy was drastically different as well. They had a variety of particle weapons, ranging from the phasers I saw, to disruptors and antiprotons. The method of delivery was different as well, including sustained beam weaponry. They did have cannons, but they were less common, but more powerful.

It was nice to see beings of different ethnic groups and species living together like they did. There were Andorian shops, Tellarite restaurants, Bajoran shrines, all scattered around a _human_ planet. It was a unity the New Republic strived for, but would never really achieve.

The government itself was excellent. They dealt with the politics, internal problems, the logistics, and all without _nearly_ the same level of corruption that marred the New Republic. I also appreciated how they largely tried to stay out of the military's affairs.

* * *

Despite the sensor data that showed my piloting skills, some instructors and pilots wanted to see for themselves, and put me in a simulator for a Peregrine fighter. I had already practiced with a Peregrine before, so I was familiar with the performance of the heavy fighter.

I utterly destroyed them. The Peregrine was no X-wing, but I could use any ship to it's fullest potential once I had a feel for it.

* * *

I spent most of my spare time exploring the city or reading up on local history.

I was exploring the city one day, looking at a massive skyscraper and trying to figure out the construction methods, when I ran straight into someone. Literally.

I went stumbling back, fighting to keep my balance while I heard someone swear vehemently and fall over.

"Blast!" I shouted, regaining my balance and helping the person I knocked over up. "I am so sorry."

The woman laughed it off. "It's alright. I wasn't looking where I was going."

As she stood, I got a good look at her. She was just shorter than me, had bright blue eyes, and had her red tinted, blond hair up in a ponytail.

I smiled and extended my hand. "Wedge Antilles."

She stiffened, then leaned in close, studying me closely. "The pilot on the _Repulse_?"

I blinked. "Yeah?"

She leaned back and grinned, taking my hand and shaking it. "Lieutenant Commander Cara Slane, the captain on the _Ares._ "

I smiled again. "It's nice to finally meet you, Commander."

"Please, call me Cara."

"Wedge, then."

"I'm surprised to see you here. What are you doing and why aren't you being interrogated by SI?"

I started us walking towards some food. "Well, I _was_ interrogated, but Admiral Janeway struck a deal with me after they found out where I was from."

"And?"

"I'm from Andromeda."

Cara's eyes widened and she whistled. "An entire galaxy away. You're lucky we got to you before the Borg did, or your galaxy might have been suffering from a invasion in the future."

I shuddered. "Let's _not_ think about that, please."

She nodded vehemently. "Yeah."

I shook off my discomfort and smiled. "So, what happened to you after Vega?"

"Well, I was debriefed and commendated for my actions. I think I'll retain command of the _Ares_ once everything is sorted out."

"Good for you."

"What are you doing in San Francisco anyway?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, after my interrogation, or debriefing, or whatever, I chose to go through a sorts of accelerated training course. It'll bring me up to speed, and once that happens, I think I'll get a ship."

She nodded as I talked. "Interesting."

I stopped at a burger place. "Hey, you want to join me for lunch?"

Cara stopped, seemed to think about it, then nodded. "Sure."

* * *

Cara and I hit it off spectacularly. We became fast friends, and I found myself joining her and a couple of her comrades at a few of the locals bars, well into the night.

Thank the Force for synthohol.

Between my classes and my social life, I was really beginning to enjoy my new life. I still mourned over the loss of my friends and family, but that didn't mean I had to mope and do nothing. Mirax would have kicked my butt if she knew I did that.

One night, I joined Cara and a few Starfleet crewmen at a small bar. When we arrived, I headed towards the bartender.

"Beer please."

The Andorian nodded and got to work.

I turned my head up to look at a holoscreen and saw that a springball game was on. I halfheartedly watched the game until I realised that my spacial awareness was going off.

Slowly, I looked down and turned around, resting my back on the bar. Carefully, I surveyed the bar.

I made two sweeps of the room before I locked eyes with a human wearing some sort of eyewear. He had a shock of aged white hair and a full beard. He wore a blue flannel and jeans.

As I watched, the older man smiled and nodded at me before my view was eclipsed by a passing Denobulan. When he passed, the man was gone.

I blinked, then saw him slipping out the door.

Unable to shake the feeling that I knew the man, I reached over and tapped Cara's shoulder. "Hey, I'll catch up with you later."

The blond frowned. "Are you sure? We just got here."

I nodded, distracted. "Yeah. I just forgot something."

Moving away, I slipped through the crowd and followed, palming the Type-1 cricket phaser I had on me and setting it to heavy stun.

I let the man lead me through the streets. Several times I thought I had lost him, but then I spotted that white hair and I had him again.

The pseudo-chase ended at my apartment, and I lost him. Suspicious, I keyed my code in, opened the door, and swept the room with my phaser.

No one was in sight, but that didn't mean anything. Flicking on the lights, I checked my corners as I moved in and made sure there was no one hiding in the apartment.

It wasn't until I checked the 'fresher that I noticed there was a glowing padd on my table.

Curious, I slowly reached over and grabbed the device. A program was ready and selected to be played, labeled 'Message for a Rogue.'

With my gut feeling like a freezer, I played the message and put it up on my holoscreen.

The same man appeared on the screen, smiling.

"Hello Wedge. You don't know me, but I know you and your story. My name is George Lucas, and I am a storyteller, historian, and time traveler."

I frowned. I knew there was an entire branch of Starfleet that was devoted to keeping an eye on the timeline and errant time travelers.

"I was born in the future, in the 29th century. Early on, I joined Starfleet and the Temporal Branch, specifically the Temporal Historians. We observed time and kept records of event that had happened. Even those that happened in other galaxies. I was especially fascinated with the events of the Galactic Civil War in Andromeda and the events that happened in both galaxies during that time. However, I had duties to Starfleet."

"I was sent to the twentieth century to observe and record things that I can't reveal to you, however, my timeship had a fatal malfunction and I was stranded with no way to communicate with Starfleet. So I blended in and attended the University of Southern California. After that, I became a film director and…" Lucas snorted. "Well, you could say the rest is history. After several movies, I decided to make a film about one of my early fascinations: Andromeda. The movie, and the ones following it, excelled. _That_ got the attention of the Temporal Branch, but by the time they got to me, it was a bit too late to change things without doing more damage than I already did."

"Your arrival here in the Milky Way was not affected by that, so don't blame me. I'm just here to explain things to you. You, pilot, commander, and slayer of stars, play a major role in the things to come. Good luck, May the Force be with you."

"Oh, by the way, start four, five, six, _then_ one, two and three."

I blinked as the vid ended, then looked down at the padd again. There were six files on the device, numbered from one to six.

Shrugging, I sat down on my couch, kicked off my boots, and played number four.

A series of logos appeared, from Lucasarts to Twentieth Century Fox, until, finally, when the screen went black.

First, the words, 'A long time ago, In a galaxy far, far away…'

Then, with a burst of fanfare…

 **STAR WARS**

* * *

 **Hehehehehe…**

 **One more chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

The next month passed by quickly, with what spare time I had that wasn't taken up by studies or-heh- _homework,_ being devoted to studying the Star Wars movies. I poured over every detail from the Originals, amazed by the accuracy of the portrayals. Sure, there were a few things off, and not everyone who played their characters looked like the real thing, but it was very close.

Overall, I learned a lot of details about the Clone Wars and a few bits of the Galactic Civil War that I didn't know. Order 66 horrified me, showing that there truly was no length the Emperor would have gone to in order to gain power. Just as well that he was dead, rotting in whatever version of hell that Force users went to.

My 'graduation day' was rapidly approaching. I assumed I was to be given a rank and a ship to command, but I didn't know what rank or ship I would get.

The day before I graduated, I left my mark on the Academy, setting out with three red cans of paint, a outline, a plate of metal, and several self-sealing stem bolts.

The next day, people gathered around a wall on the Pike building. Painted in dark red, a large Alliance Starbird stood proudly. Beneath it was a plaque, kept in place by four stem bolts, reading 'For all those who died fighting for a free galaxy.'

* * *

"Congratulations, Mister Antilles." Admiral Janeway said, handing me a small case. "You passed from Starfleet Academy with flying colors. You should be proud."

I smiled. "Thank you ma'am."

She turned to her console. I was back in her office again on ESD, receiving my rank and command apart from everyone else, because of the accelerated training course I took.

"You now have the rank of Commander." She informed. I snorted. She shot me an inquisitive look and and I chuckled.

"Sorry ma'am, it's just that I was a Commander on my side for the longest time."

She smiled. "In two days, you are to report to shipyard 21A to take command of the _Exeter-_ class refit _Skywalker._ "

My mouth dropped open for a moment, then I burst out laughing. Quickly managing to control myself, I apologised to Janeway. "Sorry ma'am, I just have a very good friend that is named Skywalker."

The Admiral shook her head. "Why do I get the feeling that you'll go on to cause us trouble?"

I flashed her a grin. "Admiral, that's a given for a Rogue."

She scoffed, smiling. "Put those rank pins on and get out of my office." She made a shooing gesture.

I beat a hasty retreat, fixing the rank pins to my collar and smiling as I headed for the tailor.

* * *

 _Fallen into another galaxy._

' _-We destroy the sun-'_

' _-Drop the shields-'_

' _-I am the dark side-"_

' _-Of the Enterprise-'_

 _Fallen into another life._

' _-I know you are here, Vitiate-'_

' _-Those that stand in our way will not watch-'_

' _-The weak shall perish-'_

' _-Do-ro'ik vong pratte-'_

 _Fallen into a chance to shake the universes._

I was out of bed and on the floor before I could even begin to process what happened.

Shaking my head, I pounded the floor with a fist.

"What is going on?" I muttered to myself.

I had been having these strange, realistic dreams for the past month, off and on, and I was getting flashes of random events that seemed to have no context.

I sat up and thought. Luke had told me how Force visions felt like. He said they were surreal, realistic, but vague and hard to identify what really happened.

But there was that voice! That voice that seemed to dominate the vision.

Was I destined to save this galaxy?

Shaking my head again, I disentangled myself from the bedsheets, grabbed a shot of espresso to jolt me awake and started dressing myself into my uniform.

Time to get started.

* * *

"Captain's Log, Stardate… I don't know, I'm still getting used to the dating system here. So, apparently, I've got to do these things every now and again, catalog the things that happen on the vessel. Well… The _Skywalker_ launched today. She's a nice looking ship, _Exeter-_ class, a modernization of the old _Constitution-_ class everyone seems to love. She's not nearly as big as most cruisers back home, but she could certainly fight them easily. Um… Oh, yeah, turns out that Lieutenant Tallasa Pjoh, the Andorian from the _Repulse,_ ended up getting a promotion and she got assigned as my first officer! Heh… I see Admiral Janeway's hand in this. Speaking of Janeway, we were assigned a simple patrol in main Federation space so Command can see if I'm any good with commanding a ship."

I paused, watching the stars streak by as we cruised at warp.

"I miss home. I miss my friends. Tycho, Corran, Luke, Mirax, Iella… I know well that Mirax would kick my ass if I sat around and moped, so I might as well do my best."

" _Bridge to Captain."_ I heard Commander Phoj's voice come through.

I reached for a comlink, then remembered my combadge. "Antilles here.

" _Captain, you're needed on the bridge."_

"Copy that. On my way." I hit the combadge again to close the connection.

I stood up to leave, then remembered the recording was still running. "I miss you guys. I'll find a way back, I'll promise you that. End log."

I strode toward the nearest turbolift and called it, waiting til the lift arrived. When I did, I called out for the bridge and let the doors slide shut.

I had no idea what adventures I would face, or how they would change them, but I would face them with a head held high. I would always find a place as long as there were people to be saved.

* * *

Thanks to Heart of Frywinde for Betaing and providing Captain Franklin Craig for an appearance in this story. Your writing has inspired me to be better and am glad to know you.

Thanks to Ron the True Fan for providing Captain Ronald Pinkerton for a cameo and always being ready to correct me with a quick jab.

And a Special thanks to Starsword-C. Your Star Trek Online stories inspired me to start putting the beginnings of my own stories on Fanfiction. Keep writing knowing you will always have a reader in me.


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